John Matthews
WMAL.com
ST PETERSBURG, FL — (WMAL) Four teams were involved, but only the Nationals and Orioles were actually playing Tuesday night.
The Nats and O’s, facing the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies respectively, combined for 35 runs en route to twin routs.
In St. Petersburg, the Nationals enjoyed 23 hits in beating the Rays, 16 – 4. Wilson Ramos hit two home runs to pace the Nats, and Clint Robinson and Bryce Harper added solo shots of their own. Harper’s was his 22nd on the season, one off the league lead held by Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton.
The Nationals’ 23 hits were the most since relocating to Washington in 2005, and the most in franchise history since the Montreal Expos had 26 on May 7, 1997, at San Francisco.
Ramos did have a bit of an advantage in hitting his two homers. By the time he hit his first in the eight inning, the Nats were enjoying a 13 – 1 lead, and the Rays had an infielder, Jake Elmore, on the mound. When Ramos went to the plate to get his second helping in the ninth, another utility player, Nick Franklin, was on mop-up duty.
In Baltimore, the Birds set a club record, sending 8 homers out of Camden Yards in a 19 – 3 spanking of the hapless Phillies. Manny Machado and newcomer Chris Parmalee each hit two dingers for the home club, as the Orioles won for the eighth time in nine games.
“It’s fun to watch, fun to be a part of,” winning pitcher Chris Tillman said.
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